Midnight Madness
by Heero Yuy5
Summary: What price Dorothy's revenge? Will Dorothy end up affecting the rest of the Gundam Crew's lives?
1. Chapter I

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, blah, blah, blah. The only thing I own is the right not to have my fan fic copied!  
  
Hi everyone! This is my first fan fic, and I only hope that it does what I want it to do [my "personal" secretary, (a.k.a. me) sometimes doesn't want to cooperate.] Just drop me a line one of these days, and I'll ponder on what it says. Oh yeah, one last thing. This fan fic contains scenes with bad language. If you don't take this well, then you might want to think about leaving. Otherwise, enjoy your stay!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
It was late at night when suddenly a cry for help was heard echoing across the frozen expanse of Antarctica. Warily, Pamela climbed to her feet and stuck her head outside of her igloo door. Being wakened at this time of night was the gravest mistake that a person could make with her.  
  
"What is it that you want?" she cried, irritated.  
  
Still, the same, faraway, desperate cry for help echoed across the Arctic vastness. Sighing, she pulled on her heavy, thick, imitation fur cloak, and walked out into the dark, stormy night, with the wind howling. As she trudged further and further along, the cry became louder and louder, until finally, Pamela stumbled across a half-frozen, desperately screaming woman.  
  
The woman had blondish-black hair, thick, heavy black eyebrows, and was a considerable few inches taller than Pamela. Pamela didn't recognize the woman at all, so the only thing she could do was attempt to make conversation with her.  
  
As soon as Pamela opened her mouth to say a word or two, the other woman tumbled down on the ground. Slowly, Pamela picked her up, and then with lightning speed, dashed back to the igloo. It was going to be a long night.  
  
* * *  
  
As dawn approached, the female showed signs of awakening. Pamela, who had stayed awake all night waiting for this moment, jumped to her feet, not at all expecting the response that she was about to receive.  
  
The woman suddenly jumped up, eyes flaring brightly.  
  
"It's about time! I nearly froze my ass off to get here and…" she trailed off, muttering curses here and there.  
  
Pamela stood, surprised, watching, until the woman finally stopped.  
  
"What is it that you want, miss, and who are you?"  
  
"My name is Dorothy Cadillonia, and I have come to ask for your services. In return, I won't give you anything—but that's not the point. Anyway, I want you to assist me in a mission that I myself have not been able to accomplish for a few years." Dorothy leaned forward in a secretive manner, bringing herself closer to Pamela's face.  
  
Pamela could almost feel the horrid stench of Dorothy's breath. Grimacing, Pamela held her ground.  
  
"I want you to help me to break into the Gundam pilots' mansion." An evil grin crossed her face, and her expression lit up.  
  
"What time?" asked Pamela calmly.  
  
"Tonight," was all Dorothy said, her whisper goodbye.  
  
* * *  
  
1 *Inside the Gundam mansion*  
  
Everything was unusually calm in the household. This type of calm was only achieved after a storm.  
  
Wufei was nowhere to be found. He and Sally had gotten into a heated argument, and Wufei had walked off, after muttering, "Women are so weak!"  
  
Duo, being his usual, stupid self, had, unaware of what was going to happen to him, punched Hilde in the stomach. Now he was sitting in his room, tears streaming down his oval face. He refused to let anyone in.  
  
Hilde was nowhere to be found. After being so close to achieving her goal with Duo, she'd once again been turned away. This had pissed her off more than anything else he'd ever done.  
  
If only Duo had known the pain he'd caused me, then maybe he wouldn't have been so stupid and dumb-assed about it in the first place, Hilde thought.  
  
As for Heero and Relina, they were battling it out in a game of battleships. So far, Relina had sunk two of Heero's ships.  
  
And as for the rest of the household, they'd been there when the fighting started, left when the fighting ended, and hadn't been seen since.  
  
* * *  
  
*Near the Lenox River*  
  
Wufei sits, staring out across the river.  
  
Sally walks up behind him, and yells "INJUSTICE!"  
  
"DON'T MOCK ME, WOMAN! YOU REALLY ARE WEAK!" Wufei shouted straight into Sally's face.  
  
Sally stood, a bemused smile planted on her face.  
  
"I wonder if I can get him to do that more often?" she pondered, supposedly in her own world.  
  
"ONNA! DON'T YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN!" Wufei was trying to snap Sally out of her 'reverie,' with no effect.  
  
Finally, in desperation, Wufei grabbed Sally and kissed her full on the mouth. He was oblivious to her tiny smile of triumph.  
  
Before Wufei could react, Sally wrapped her arms around him, and wrapped them tight. She crushed his mouth to his.  
  
They ran down near the river, where strange sounds could be heard if one listened hard enough.  
  
* * *  
  
"That was one hell of a ride," Sally remarked.  
  
"Don't talk…too tired…please…just…shut up…" was Wufei's response.  
  
* * *  
  
1.1 Fifteen minutes later…  
  
Sally and Wufei left the park separately, still not wanting to admit their love for each other. As they left, a lone figure watched them from the shadows, contemplating how different Wufei and Sally had become after their encounter.  
  
The only thing he said was, "Hn." 


	2. Chapter II

Hello again! This is Heero speaking. I hoped you liked the first chapter. By the way, in case you didn't notice, my chapters don't have names. I really suck with that kind of thing, so please don't ask me to do that *cringing.* Hope you like it! --- ^_~ ---  
  
*Outside the Gundam mansion, near the entrance*  
  
It was near midnight, and two dark outlines crept across the gate. One was an evil-looking blonde with bushy eyebrows, the other taller, slim, with raven-black hair and glowing green eyes. Only two silhouettes in the night, nothing more, or were they?  
  
The slim black-haired girl, a mage, was stealthier, and therefore went first. The other, like the taller's shadow, followed close behind.  
  
"How do we get in, Dorothy?" the black-haired girl asked.  
  
"I don't know! You were supposed to figure that out! Now shut the hell up or they'll hear us!"  
  
"Give me a second to think then."  
  
"Fine. Whatever gets us in quickest."  
  
"I got it!" the trim girl explained.  
  
"Pamela! Don't scare me like that!"  
  
"Now who's the one who's doing all the talking?"  
  
"Just shut your trap and get us in!"  
  
"Whatever."  
  
Leading the way, Pamela proceeded to sneak in past weak spots in the mansion's security. It certainly helped that she could use magic to ward off any curiosity the cameras might have.  
  
At last, the mansion loomed up in front of Dorothy and Pamela. Dorothy, forgetting all stealth, rushed forward.  
  
"Dorothy…NO! STOP! YOU IDIOT!"  
  
But it was too late.  
  
Dorothy had managed to step on the last and final trap concocted by the Gundam pilots.  
  
"NOOOOOO!" she screamed as Dorothy disappeared out of sight.  
  
"DOROTHY!"  
  
Just then, the pilots all came streaming out of the house, even Duo, who was normally a VERY heavy sleeper. However, he couldn't sleep because of what had happened between him and Hilde.  
  
Pamela stood, frozen with shock, staring at the pilots, wondering where the hell they came from.  
  
"I see someone fell into our cozy little trap," Duo said with relish. "Let's see who it is!"  
  
Whomever they had suspected, nothing had prepared them to see Dorothy, her pride in shambles.  
  
"You'll never catch me!" Dorothy laughed hysterically, pulling out a long blade.  
  
"Don't! Do you really think it's worth taking your life for such stupid a cause as not getting trapped by us?" Quatre was desperate. He never liked being responsible for a death, no matter whose it was.  
  
"Yes! I do! I can't stand to be tortured by all of you! Don't deny it; you know it's true!"  
  
That was when Pamela realized Dorothy was completely and wholly crazy.  
  
Before anyone could stop her, Dorothy took the knife, turned it back towards herself, and stabbed it straight through her own heart.  
  
Blood spurted everywhere, spots of it landing on the Gundam pilots' clothes, even reaching as far as Pamela stood, body trembling.  
  
"No…this can't be…if I had know she would go this far…I never would have helped her. It's all my fault!" With this last word, Pamela fainted onto the black stuff we call earth.  
  
"Who is this girl, and what's she doing here?" Quatre wondered. 


	3. Chapter III

*Inside the Gundam mansion*  
  
"What is she doing here, and how is she involved with Dorothy?"  
  
That was the question all the pilots were asking themselves, waiting for Pamela to regain consciousness. Pamela had fainted dead away, and had been carried into the house to be taken care of, while most of the pilots stayed outside to clean up the remains of Dorothy.  
  
What I want to know is how she remains so beautiful, even in sleep, Quatre thought.  
  
Suddenly, Pamela began to stir.  
  
"She's awake!" Quatre cried.  
  
"Wh…Where…am I?" Pamela asked, voiced still muddled by sleep.  
  
"In our house," Heero answered.  
  
"Wh-What?!"  
  
"You're…in…our…house," Heero explained, as if to a dimwit.  
  
"Oh."  
  
"What were you doing here?" Duo demanded.  
  
"I was with Dorothy," Pamela said. "What happened?"  
  
"You don't remember?" Duo asked, puzzled.  
  
"No, I don't, as a matter of fact. Wait, maybe I do. Did she…did she…was she…was she the one who stabbed herself?"  
  
"Yes," said Quatre sadly. "That was Dorothy."  
  
"Now enough of this sad shit, who are you and what are you doing here?" Duo finally said, exasperated with all the thoughts he figured were nonsense.  
  
"My…my name's Pamela, and I'm a light-mage. I didn't know Dorothy took her mission that seriously, I didn't know she was willing to kill herself in order not to get caught."  
  
She's a mage? Quatre thought. As if there wasn't already enough about her that wasn't special.  
  
Pamela continued. "I know being a light-mage means I can only do good, but she looked so angry, and I felt a fate worse than death would fall upon me were I to refuse her request for help."  
  
"She ASKED you for help?" Duo was astonished.  
  
"Yes…was she not supposed to? Is there something about her that I don't know?"  
  
"Honey, there's a hell of a lot you don't know about Dorothy. You're just lucky she didn't kill you after you helped her past the gates."  
  
"How did you know that?"  
  
"I looked over the security cameras – very carefully, mind you, and I could see glimpses of both of you."  
  
"Wow. Next time I'll be more careful when I use magic to convert the cameras."  
  
"You used MAGIC?!"  
  
"Of course, how else did you think you barely got any glimpses of me? As good as I am sneaking through places, I'm not that good."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"So how'd you find Dorothy, or vise-versa?" Trowa asked, his first few words since Dorothy's death.  
  
"I was in my igloo—"  
  
"You were in an igloo?" Duo wondrously asked.  
  
"As a matter of fact, yes, I was. Anyway, before I was so rudely interrupted," *Duo coughs,* "I heard a cry coming from outside. I go out to investigate, and I come upon Dorothy. I take her home to look after her, and when she finally recuperates, which, let me say, was scary, she jumped straight out of her bed and started cursing about how much trouble she had gone through to get to my home. She tells me that she wants my help in breaking into your mansion. And we did, up to some extent. You know the rest."  
  
"Oh," all the pilots chorused.  
  
"Yes, oh, and look where I ended up? Here, which, I'll let you know, is not where I want to be."  
  
"Well, too bad, Pamela, cause here you're going to stay," Quatre said, even surprising himself as he spoke it.  
  
"No! I don't want to stay here!"  
  
"I'm sorry, but Quatre's right," Heero said. "We can't let you go because we risk having you come back for revenge."  
  
"NO!"  
  
"So, then I guess that's settled. Pamela will stay here, even if it means it's against her will," Duo said with a snicker.  
  
"You just stop that right now! I have enough trouble on my hands without having you interfere!"  
  
"Oh, yeah? And what might that trouble be, may I ask?"  
  
"Why don't you just SHUT THE HELL UP!?" With those words, Pamela gathered her strength and hurled a shining ball of light straight for Duo's chest.  
  
The ball struck its target, namely Duo, and he went flying backwards to slam against the wall opposite Pamela.  
  
But that was the last of Pamela's strength, so, again, she just dropped onto the floor. 


	4. Chapter IV

"Pamela! Pamela, wake up!"  
  
Those were the first words Pamela heard when she woke, Quatre shaking her limp body. Sunlight was streaming through the windows, filling the room with light.  
  
"I…guess I must have used too much of my…powers."  
  
"Damn right," Quatre said, now pissed.  
  
"Where's everyone else?"  
  
"They're downstairs. They don't care about you, well, at least not that much. Why should they?"  
  
"I dunno. I guess you're right."  
  
"I'll be back in a bit. I want to go have lunch first."  
  
"Why didn't you have it already?"  
  
"I was waiting for you to wake up."  
  
With a soft and sweet smile, Quatre left the room.  
  
"Can you get me some too?" Pamela shouted down the stairs.  
  
"Whatever!" came the response.  
  
* * *  
  
"Hey, Quatre, finally gotten over your obsession with that girl and decided to come back to Earth?"  
  
"Shut up, Duo. I wouldn't be talking. At least a so-called obsession is better than getting hurt."  
  
Duo was sitting at the table with a giant bandage around his chest. He winced.  
  
"Do you have to remind me of painful memories?"  
  
"Only if you insist on being annoying."  
  
"Can we please break up the fighting?" Relena asked. "Bickering sometimes makes me uncomfortable."  
  
"Do what Relena says."  
  
"Chill, Heero, it was only a joke." Duo, puppy-faced, was looking at Heero.  
  
"Your whole life is a joke."  
  
(Sarcastically) "Thanks." Duo went back to wearing his sulky expression mask.  
  
All of a sudden Duo brightened up. "Hey, is it just me, or do Sally and Wufie seem a teensy-weensy bit closer?"  
  
Sally blushes, but Wufei's face turns beet red for a whole different reason entirely.  
  
"You baka! How dare you say such things about ME! AND DON'T CALL ME WUFIE!"  
  
"Whatever."  
  
Wufei goes huffing up the stairs into his own room.  
  
"Now look what you've done, Duo! Do you know how long it's going to take me to calm him down?" Sally was getting really pissed.  
  
"Well, why should you care anyway? It's not like he's your boyfriend. Or is he?"  
  
"Two things, Duo; shut up, and go to hell, cause it's where you belong."  
  
"Yeesh. Why is everyone getting mad at me all of a sudden?"  
  
"Hmm, Duo, I just wonder why." Sally's voice was laced with sarcasm.  
  
"Just leave me alone. I'm having a very bad day, okay?"  
  
"Wow, Duo's actually mad!" Sally was impressed.  
  
Duo leaves to go up to his room, if only to sulk.  
  
"Okay everyone, let's just finish this lunch and disperse. I don't think any of you should be around each other now, your nerves are too tightly strung." Relena, always the peacemaker, was trying to bring about peace in the kitchen.  
  
"I'm going back upstairs to look on Pamela. I also told her I'd bring some food," Quatre hastily said, not wanting to be around the almost visible tension in the kitchen.  
  
* * *  
  
"Hey, you're finally back! I'm just starving!" Pamela greeted Quatre happily.  
  
"I brought you eggs and bacon. I hope you enjoy."  
  
"Mmmm."  
  
"Glad you like it."  
  
"Thanks. I was really hungry."  
  
"No problem. Just one thing, though. I have the feeling that you didn't tell us everything about you. What are you hiding?"  
  
"What are you talking about?" Pamela was stricken.  
  
"I think you're hiding something."  
  
"No, I'm not!"  
  
"Listen, Pamela, I think I'd know you enough by now to recognize when you're hiding something."  
  
"You barely know me at all! What's all this crap about being able to read me like a book?"  
  
"Well, am I right?"  
  
"NO!"  
  
"Stop trying to deny it, because it's obvious you are."  
  
"If you're so intent on being pushy, why don't you just tie me to a torture rack and get the truth out of me that way?"  
  
Quatre was taken aback. "Why would I do that?"  
  
"Because you seem to want to get your way, and that would be the only solution for making me spew lies that you'd probably believe were true."  
  
"Shows how much you know me. If you did know me, you'd realize that I hate hurting people, even in the midst of a war. The only reason I do is because I have to."  
  
"Oh. I'm sorry."  
  
"It's okay."  
  
"You know what? I think I really am hiding something."  
  
Quatre leaned forward eagerly. "What?"  
  
"It's for me to know and you to find out. I'll tell you when I feel like I can trust you enough."  
  
"What does it have to do with trust? Doesn't have something to do with Dorothy's death?"  
  
"Indirectly."  
  
"Oh. Then I guess I'll just have to wait."  
  
"Exactly."  
  
Pamela set out on finishing her breakfast, for she was starving.  
  
"When was the last time you ate?"  
  
"How'm I supposed to know how long I was asleep? Why don't you tell me?"  
  
"Okay…let's see…you've been asleep for about two days."  
  
"What?! That long? Wholly shit, that's a hell of a long time to sleep."  
  
"Now that I think about it, yes, you're right."  
  
"I think I'm getting tired again. I'll probably go to sleep soon. Have to get back my energy so I can live a normal prison life, if you want to call a prison life normal."  
  
"Prison?"  
  
"Well, isn't that what this place is to me? You won't allow me to leave, so I'm trapped in here."  
  
"I'd rather hoped that you'd begin to feel like this place was home."  
  
"Now I can really see that you're the peace-loving type—most of the time."  
  
Quatre gave Pamela such a sweet smile that if it had been directed at the sun, it would have made the glowing orb shine brighter.  
  
"Sweet dreams." 


	5. Chapter V

*12 hours later in the Gundam mansion*  
  
The first thing Pamela noticed when she woke up was that it was dark.  
  
"Was I really asleep that long?" she asked herself.  
  
"Yes, you were." A voice came out of the shadows.  
  
"Who are you? Why don't you come out so I can see you?"  
  
"Hn."  
  
A figure stepped out of the shadows. His was a small but seemingly strong figure.  
  
I don't think I'd want to be on his bad side, she thought worriedly. He looks extremely dangerous.  
  
"I have to stay here to watch over you. Quatre requested I do this."  
  
"Quatre? He really made you come out here?" Pamela was surprised that Quatre would have that much influence. "What's your name?"  
  
"Heero Yuy. I guess now that you're awake I'll go and get Quatre."  
  
"Before you leave, can you tell me what time it is?"  
  
"8 o'clock."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Heero melted back into the darkness.  
  
A few minutes later, Quatre quietly crept into the room.  
  
"Are you still awake?"  
  
"Yes. Why did you send him to look after me? He gives me the creeps."  
  
"He's the one that's most likely to protect you if there's trouble."  
  
"What about that dork with the braid?"  
  
"That was Duo. Thanks to you and that incident with that ball or whatever you threw at him, he's been rendered an invalid."  
  
"Oh, well, tell him I said I was sorry, okay?"  
  
"Whatever you want, your majesty."  
  
"What did I do to earn that sarcasm, Quatre? Have I really been that bossy and mean?"  
  
"No. I'm sorry, I didn't really realize what I was saying. It just popped out of my mouth. I didn't mean to."  
  
"You don't have to act as if I'm going to kill you. I'm not that mean—yet."  
  
"What do you mean—yet?"  
  
"What I'm saying is, that if I don't get out of here very soon, I'm going to be very mad."  
  
"You know we can't let you go."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"You might try to seek revenge."  
  
"If I tell you I won't, will you let me go?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because."  
  
"Because what?" Pamela was getting exasperated.  
  
"Okay—look. I have my reasons for not telling you, just like you have your reasons for not telling me that secret you're intent on not sharing until you trust me enough."  
  
"Whatever. Hey listen, do you think I can go out and take a walk? I'm sorta bored being stuffed in here for who knows how many days."  
  
"Sure. You don't want me to come with you?"  
  
"No thanks. Not this time."  
  
I wish she'd be more open with me, Quatre thought. I want to get to know her better, but she puts up this kind of barrier whenever someone's around.  
  
"See you later, Quatre."  
  
Quatre sighed as Pamela walked out the door. 


	6. Chapter VI

*Duo's Room*  
  
*Sigh.* "I wish everyone wouldn't be so mad at me." Duo was squatting on the floor, sulking. "Maybe it's my fault, but why did they have to take it so hard? All of it was just a joke! Man, even Hilde's mad at me, and that doesn't happen often."  
  
"Duo? Are you in here?" Hilde's voice sounded through the door.  
  
"Yeah, I'm here. What do you want, lay some more blame on me?"  
  
"Duo, what's wrong with you?"  
  
"I dunno. Everyone seems to be mad at me all of a sudden. Even you."  
  
"Duo, I'm not mad—at least not any more."  
  
"You're not? What made you decide you weren't going to be mad at me after all? I probably did something really bad this time, but that's just the kind of person I am—always ready to bungle up things."  
  
"No, Duo. It's just that sometimes you don't understand."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"What I'm saying is you sometimes don't pay enough attention to note other people's feelings, and you end up hurting them or making them mad. Like that thing you did to Sally and Wufei."  
  
"Oh. I guess I have been like that, haven't I? I'll try to change, but I don't know if I can."  
  
"Thanks. Listen, you wanna go out for a walk or something?"  
  
"Cool!"  
  
* * *  
  
"Wufei?"  
  
"Go, away!" Mumbles, "Weak woman!"  
  
"I am not weak! If I was weak, then would you have taken me in the park?"  
  
"DAMN YOU! JUST SHUT UP! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW EMBARRASING THAT WAS FOR ME!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
"It wasn't my fault."  
  
"Well, if you didn't exist, then it wouldn't have happened, so therefore it is your fault."  
  
"Well, if you're going to be that way, then I'll just leave…"  
  
"Wait!"  
  
Wufei opens the door and allows Sally to come in. What he doesn't notice is the shadow down the hallway.  
  
"Hn. Looks like Sally and Wufei have gotten back together…"  
  
Inside Wufei's room, Sally stalks around in anger.  
  
"Why do you have to be such an asshole?'"  
  
"WHAT? DON'T YOU START ON ME ONNA!"  
  
"Come on, Wufei. Get a grip. Don't you realize that it's time you admitted that you feel something for me?"  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"Don't tell me you're an idiot in addition to being an asshole!"  
  
"That…that thing in the park…it was an—an—an accident!"  
  
"Like hell it was."  
  
"Okay—look. I let you in here cause I thought you were going to be nice. Don't start on me now."  
  
"Whatever. Do you want to go back to the park and relive some not-so-old memories?"  
  
"NO! Leave me alone about that!"  
  
"Fine. If you so insist on forgetting the past."  
  
"I do."  
  
"Okay then. I have something to show you—come with me."  
  
Sally grabs hold of Wufei and drags him out of the room at break-neck speed. Even she, with her usually keen eyes, doesn't notice the silhouette still hovering in the shadows.  
  
* * *  
  
Pamela strolls along around the Gundam mansion, or that's how she thought of it. She stops every once in a while to admire the blossoming flowers and trees.  
  
Ahhhh, the beautiful time of year. Spring.  
  
Butterflies flit around the budding flowers, trying to find the perfect opportunity to pick up pollen. They unknowingly keep the circle of life in motion.  
  
While Pamela was walking, she saw a perfectly magnificent tree. Its branches seemed to touch the sky. The trunk was gnarly and old, and it ejected a kind of elegant majesty.  
  
Pamela saw the tree as an opportunity to survey the grounds without completely tiring herself out. Skillfully, Pamela swung up into the very tops of the tree.  
  
1 The view is so wonderful from up here! I wish I could stay here forever, and ever…  
  
That was when Pamela noticed the lone figure striding across the lawn.  
  
2 Who's he?  
  
Pamela decided not to say anything, and see if the stranger noticed her. Strangely enough, the figure looked up, and Pamela saw half his face covered by long bangs.  
  
"Who are you?" she called.  
  
"…"  
  
"Well?"  
  
"…My name's Trowa. Trowa Barton."  
  
"What are you doing here? How'd you see me?"  
  
"…I just had a feeling."  
  
"Weird. Anyway, can you leave me alone? I was enjoying myself until you came along."  
  
"Are you the one who calls herself a prisoner here?"  
  
"Yes, that would be me. Is there anything wrong with that?"  
  
"…"  
  
"Say something!"  
  
"No."  
  
"Then leave me along, okay?"  
  
"Yes. Goodbye."  
  
Damn, he was sure quiet. Wonder how he got that way. I'll have to ask Quatre when I get back.  
  
'When I get back.' Pamela realized she was thinking of the mansion more and more as if it were home. Goddammit! I've got to stop thinking like that! This is not my home, and it never will be!  
  
Angrily, Pamela swung out of the tree. That was when she heard the laughter.  
  
* * *  
  
"Come on, Hilde, hurry up!"  
  
"I'm coming, I'm coming! Wait up for me, Duo!"  
  
Hilde and Duo's laughter resounded throughout the courtyard. Duo had seemingly recovered from his rendezvous with Pamela, but if he hadn't, he certainly didn't show it. He and Hilde went crashing through the miniature forest that had decided to grow in the courtyard. They were having the times of their lives.  
  
Finally, Duo and Hilde collapsed, exhausted. Duo mumbled something, and it sent Hilde into fits of laughter. She tackled Duo to the ground.  
  
Duo tried to get up, but soon found out that he wasn't fully recovered. Hilde could easily keep him pinned. So he tried his last resort. He kissed her. It was a deep, deep kiss, and it had caught Hilde off guard.  
  
"What…the…fuck…is…this?"  
  
"Don't you like it?"  
  
"Damn right I do!"  
  
"Then shut up!"  
  
"Whatever."  
  
They were both lying there, kissing each other on what seemed like the brink of death when Pamela came along. She gasped and stared, and began to turn around, but Duo and Hilde had already seen her.  
  
"I'm…I'm…sorry."  
  
If looks could kill, Duo's scowl would have left Pamela flat on the ground. Hilde's glare was even worse.  
  
"I'll leave right now."  
  
Duo sighed. He knew that his moment had been ruined, and both he and Hilde were too embarrassed to do anything more in the way of…well…he'd rather not think along those lines, they were too uncomfortable.  
  
"How 'bout we all just go inside now?"  
  
Pamela seized Duo's apology up without a second thought. "Okay, I guess I've done enough walking for today."  
  
Duo and Hilde picked themselves up, their pride in shambles, while Pamela was still working to recover from the shock of what she'd just seen. They left silently and entered the house.  
  
* * *  
  
"Hurry up, Wufie!"  
  
"Don't call me that! My name is not Wufie, and if you're going to call me Wufie—Wufie, for god's sake. Where do they come up with these stupid names?—then I will call you a weak onna."  
  
"Suit yourself."  
  
*Spluttering* "You'd actually allow yourself to be called a weak onna?"  
  
"If it makes you mad, then yes."  
  
"Well, why are you mad at me?"  
  
"Hmm, Wufie, I just wonder why. Maybe it's because you refuse to admit certain things that happen, like, maybe, what happened in the park."  
  
"Just shut up! I don't want to hear any more weak crap!"  
  
"Well, you wouldn't be hearing it if you weren't so stubborn!"  
  
"I am not stubborn!"  
  
"Like hell you aren't."  
  
"Why did you drag me out here to argue?"  
  
Sally's voice instantly softened. "I didn't."  
  
"Then why'd you bring me here?"  
  
"Follow me."  
  
Sally led Wufei out of the mansion, and through an endless maze of trees. Even Sally couldn't tell when she'd actually passed the borders of the mansion, even though she'd been on the route before.  
  
She finally stopped short. "Don't take another step forward."  
  
In front of Wufei and Sally was the most beautiful waterfall Wufei had ever seen. The drops of water falling from the high cliff were tinkling and sparkling crystals plummeting towards the ground.  
  
"I…I—"  
  
"Don't talk, just look."  
  
Wufei and Sally stood standing out at the top of the waterfall, hands eventually finding their homes with each other. Sally and Wufei completely lost track of time, too wrapped up in their own little world of beauty.  
  
* * *  
  
Trowa was restless. Ever since that stranger had come into the house, he had to make sure he crept around each corner in order to avoid seeing her. He didn't like strangers, especially ones that ended up in the wrong place by accident. He had decided to take a stroll around the woods, where he knew no one would find him. He knew the woods better than anyone else. After that encounter with Pamela in the garden, he didn't feel like talking to anyone.  
  
That was when he heard the singing.  
  
A sweet, lilting melody coming from the very heart of the woods. Trowa felt an irresistible attraction to that song, and couldn't help but follow it to it source. What he saw was not what he expected, not at all.  
  
A tiny figure, if you want to call it that, was perched up in the highest branches of a tree. Her hair was spun gold, and it glinted in the rays of sunlight that found their ways through the trees. She wore a dress of the purest white, and she was sitting up in the tree as if she hadn't a care in the world. In her hands was a tiny flute, which, when she raised it to her lips, plays such a heart-breaking and beautiful song that all the animals of the forest seemed to swarm around her. Trowa watched, fascinated, as the wooden but delicate flute played notes that would pierce the soul.  
  
The playing abruptly stopped as the girl, or rather, woman, noticed Trowa. Her eyes widened, and she prepared to jump off the tree.  
  
"No—don't!"  
  
The woman cocked her head, eyes still large with fright, and her whole body was trembling. "Wh—wh—what do you want with me?"  
  
What do I want with her? What's going on? Trowa was completely baffled. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Are you going to kill me now that you've caught me?"  
  
"KILL YOU? Why would I want to kill you?"  
  
"That's what your kind do to us. They use us, then kill us."  
  
"I'd never do that—never."  
  
"R…really? You're not trying to catch me?"  
  
Trowa's voice was soft and coaxing. "No, I heard the most beautiful melody, and I couldn't help but follow it to its source."  
  
"You liked my song?"  
  
"And you."  
  
This seemed to startle the woman, for her body, which had become relaxed, stiffened.  
  
"I didn't mean it like that! I'm sorry if that's what you thought. What's your name?"  
  
The woman regarded him wearily, not sure if she should give out that precious piece of information. "Xaphanis."  
  
As Trowa rolled the name over on his tongue, he found it more and more to his liking. "Where do you live?"  
  
"The forest is my home. If I told you my name, can you at least tell me yours?"  
  
"Trowa Barton. I'm an acrobat." How that information came out, Trowa didn't know.  
  
"Catch!"  
  
Xaphanis flung herself from the tree into Trowa's arms. Now that she felt she could trust him, she put all her faith into that little trust. Xaphanis wasn't disappointed. Surprised as he was, Trowa caught Xaphanis as she hurtled down from the tree. Xaphanis laughed at Trowa's startled expression. He also looked pleased. Xaphanis smelled like the earth and the wonderful flowers that bloomed freely in the forest. She could have been nature herself.  
  
"Do you want to see where I live? I have a home that I normally stay at, but some of the time the whole forest becomes my home." Xaphanis's look was inquiring. She was curious to see Trowa's reaction. "I'll give you the directions."  
  
Xaphanis promptly began giving Trowa directions to a place he thought he might be able to find later. They traveled through an endless, vast forest, and Trowa knew, in his heart of hearts, when they had reached the soul of the forest.  
  
A towering redwood dominated the soul, and it almost seemed to glow with its presence. Animals flitted and wound their way around the tree itself, and everywhere Trowa looked, he could see the essence of life. The soul was like an aura of being, of happiness, of peace.  
  
"Welcome to my humble—well, okay, so maybe it's not so humble—home."  
  
"It's glorious. I couldn't have imagined a greater place."  
  
"Glad you like it."  
  
Xaphanis grabbed Trowa's hand, and led him toward the massive redwood.  
  
"Where are we going?"  
  
"Into my home."  
  
With those words, Xaphanis brought Trowa face-to-face with the redwood. She placed her hand on the tree, and Trowa heard a huge groaning. Magically, the tree opened up to form a doorway in which Xaphanis and Trowa could enter. And so Xaphanis and Trowa were plunged into the soul of the forest. 


End file.
